# Cannot get that "plastic smell" out of the edgestar!



## gehrig97 (Aug 19, 2007)

Hey, anybody have any tips on how to get that "new plastic" smell out of the Edgestar? Per some of the other threads on the subject, I've washed the interior down twice (once with plain water, once with mild dish detergent), and have had it open for a _full week_... still, a very strong plastic smell. My Chasidor drawers are on the way, and I want this baby ready to load up... any help is greatly appreciated.


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## Son Of Thor (Apr 14, 2010)

Thats pretty much what I did with my wine cooler also. At that time it was where my son could get to it, so I left it closed during the day with a box of baking soda in it. Then at night I would open it up to let it air out. That was after washing it down twice with a little dish soap and water. I'd say let it sit for about 3-4 days like that and the smell was gone for me.


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## thegoldenmackid (Mar 16, 2010)

Two days of leaving it open with baking soda did it for me...


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## gehrig97 (Aug 19, 2007)

much appreciated--I will go the baking soda route tomorrow.


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## thegoldenmackid (Mar 16, 2010)

To add... I also put empty boxes in there 48 hours before cigars went in...helped speed things up as well.


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## foster0724 (Jun 9, 2010)

+1 Baking soda will work like a charm.


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## gehrig97 (Aug 19, 2007)

Well, I'm at my wit's end... wiped down the interior again, loaded it up with two boxes of baking soda, left it open for two days, closed it last night... when I opened it this morning, the plastic smell was overpowering (as in, as soon as the door opened, it hit me like a brick).

Sigh. looks like I have to send it back. The door has been open for 10 days, the unit has been wiped down three times, and the smell is just as bad as the day it arrived. 

So pissed.


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## Son Of Thor (Apr 14, 2010)

I wonder why you are having so much trouble getting that smell out of it. Is it possible for you to let it sit out in the sun with the door open? That might work too, I read that what people do with coolers to help get the smell out of it.


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## gehrig97 (Aug 19, 2007)

I'm wondering the same thing... can't understand it. I have another wine fridge and I just left the door open for 24 hrs and presto, smell was gone. I haven't tried leaving it outside, but what the heck--at this point it's worth trying.

thanks for your reply.


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## gehrig97 (Aug 19, 2007)

Well, after wiping down twice more with baking soda/water, and leaving two boxes of baking soda in the unit, and leaving the door open for another week -even leaving the unit outside on the balcony for two days- the plastic smell is as strong as the day I bought it. I have a friend who needs a wine cooler, so she is going to take the Edgestar (model TWR28s) off my hands. But I am SO disappointed. Bought the beads, ordered Chasi-drawers, the works. I'm going to try a Vino -hopefully I'll have better luck.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

gehrig97 said:


> Hey, anybody have any tips on how to get that "new plastic" smell out of the Edgestar? Per some of the other threads on the subject, I've washed the interior down twice (once with plain water, once with mild dish detergent), and have had it open for a _full week_... still, a very strong plastic smell. My Chasidor drawers are on the way, and I want this baby ready to load up... any help is greatly appreciated.


My buddy had a similar problem as i recall. He used activated charcoal from the pet store. Sprinkled it on the bottom after plugging the drain. Ran it a couple of days smell was gone. :tinfoil3:


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## asmartbull (Aug 16, 2009)

thegoldenmackid said:


> Two days of leaving it open with baking soda did it for me...


Charlie is a wise man.

Wash with Baking soda.

Leave open in the sun for the day. keep closed with baking soda for the night.

Repeat.

Add Beads and sticks...


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## gtacuban (Jun 30, 2010)

I've also heard that a mild bleach wash with lots of rinsing before the baking soda will work.

Also, you might need to change out the baking soda with a new batch if it's not totally getting rid of the smell.


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## gehrig97 (Aug 19, 2007)

asmartbull said:


> Charlie is a wise man.
> 
> Wash with Baking soda.
> 
> ...


Yep--tried exactly that. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me...


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## gehrig97 (Aug 19, 2007)

So, I called Edgestar--they actually suggested using a water/lemon juice rinse... but with the caveat that this advice applies to the plastic smell in their ice makers, not wine coolers. The technician (very nice guy) said he had never heard of someone having an issue with the plastic smell, and that "it won't affect the wine". 

It was at this point I told him I was using the fridge to store cigars. He said "OOOOH.... ok, I can see why that would be a problem..." He was genuinely interested, but couldn't guarantee the lemon juice would work. But i'll give it one last college try. 

Thanks to all for your comments and ideas--it's appreciated!


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> My buddy had a similar problem as i recall. He used activated charcoal from the pet store. Sprinkled it on the bottom after plugging the drain. Ran it a couple of days smell was gone. :tinfoil3:


Bump Bump Bump
Try the Charcoal before you shell out bucks for a Vino temp it works!


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## cruisin66stang (Jan 5, 2008)

Load it with cedar from old boxes and let it run for a few days. This should help.

I had a hard time getting the smell out of my Vinotemp. Worked at it for about 3 weeks. It still had some smell but I just loaded it with cedar and cigars and hoped for the best. The smell is either gone or masked by the cedar and cigars.


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## Hawnted (Oct 20, 2009)

cruisin66stang said:


> Load it with cedar from old boxes and let it run for a few days. This should help.
> 
> I had a hard time getting the smell out of my Vinotemp. Worked at it for about 3 weeks. It still had some smell but I just loaded it with cedar and cigars and hoped for the best. The smell is either gone or masked by the cedar and cigars.


Do this while leaving the door open all the time.

Wash with hot water + baking soda. Let dry in the sun for the rest of the day. Leave the door open over night.
Wipe down with hot water + mild dish soap. Let dry in the sun for the rest of the day. Leave the door open over night.
Wipe down with warm water. Let dry in the sun for the rest of the day. Leave the door open over night.
Bring it inside. Regardless of smell. Plug it in and turn it to the warmest setting. Fill it with new boxes of baking soda emptied onto a large plate. Leave closed for a day.
Open, fill it up with empty cigar boxes and leave it closed for a day running.
Smell should be gone.


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Warm water, vinegar and baking soda. Wipe it down thoroughly. The vinegar will break the bonds of the plasitcizers on the surface. Allow to dry until the vinegar odor has dissipated and you're ready to roll.

On extremely rare occasion, plastics can be mixed wrong and be extremely odoriferous indefinitely. There's a chance this is what you have, but it's highly unlikely.


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## briansh73 (Jun 1, 2010)

Did you ever gid rid of the smell? I just got one and have the same problem. I just filled it with boxes and some baking soda. It seems to be working a little, guess I just need to give it time. If you are going to get rid of it......would you be interested in selling the trays and shelves you ordered from chasidor?


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## gehrig97 (Aug 19, 2007)

briansh73 said:


> Did you ever gid rid of the smell? I just got one and have the same problem. I just filled it with boxes and some baking soda. It seems to be working a little, guess I just need to give it time. If you are going to get rid of it......would you be interested in selling the trays and shelves you ordered from chasidor?


Hi--The smell got a bit better, but it never really went away. however, I've loaded it up with cigars and boxes (along with the cedar drawers from Chasidor), and I don't notice it... but I'll let you know a month from now if I've inadvertently infused my collection with a plastic smell


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## briansh73 (Jun 1, 2010)

gehrig97 said:


> Hi--The smell got a bit better, but it never really went away. however, I've loaded it up with cigars and boxes (along with the cedar drawers from Chasidor), and I don't notice it... but I'll let you know a month from now if I've inadvertently infused my collection with a plastic smell


Not to keep bugging you, but what did you do for humidification. I'm looking for ideas. I did check the boards and read through what others did, but just seeing if you did anything different. I'm using beads 65% but it keeps dipping like crazy.


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## gehrig97 (Aug 19, 2007)

No worries--I'm using 2 lbs of heartfelt beads and a couple of extra small (like two oz.) jars of humigel.

However, the humidity has been fluctuating quite a bit (you'll see another thread I'm going to post in just a minute or two).


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## gehrig97 (Aug 19, 2007)

By the way, Brian: The only method I didn't try when trying to get the plastic smell out of the humi was a vinegar wash--and knowing how well vinegar works on all sorts of things, I'm guessing it should help. The lemon juice didn't work so well, and the baking soda had no impact at all (which surprised the hell out of me). Oh--I didn't try the charcoal idea, although I definitely see the logic in it.

I would also say to make sure you air it out very well--I left mine open for days--seemed to help a bit. I found the whole thing odd, as I have another wine fridge. All I had to do to get the plastic smell out was leave it open overnight. Go figure.


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## briansh73 (Jun 1, 2010)

Thanks for the help. I am new to this forum and have found everyone on here to be so helpful. I have already learned so much. Now I just need to try out some of the cigar recommendations i've seen on here. I really want to get my hands on some of the top shelf stuff for comparison. All I've tried is the $2 to $5 gars so far. Thanks again.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

gehrig97 said:


> By the way, Brian: The only method I didn't try when trying to get the plastic smell out of the humi was a vinegar wash--and knowing how well vinegar works on all sorts of things, I'm guessing it should help. The lemon juice didn't work so well, and the baking soda had no impact at all (which surprised the hell out of me). Oh--I didn't try the charcoal idea, although I definitely see the logic in it.
> 
> I would also say to make sure you air it out very well--I left mine open for days--seemed to help a bit. I found the whole thing odd, as I have another wine fridge. All I had to do to get the plastic smell out was leave it open overnight. Go figure.


You didn't try the activated Charcoal i told you about.:hmm:
Pity cause it works like a charm.:tsk:


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## briansh73 (Jun 1, 2010)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> You didn't try the activated Charcoal i told you about.:hmm:
> Pity cause it works like a charm.:tsk:


I did it and it worked. The only thing i can smell is a very faint plastic smell form the fan running on occasion.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

briansh73 said:


> I did it and it worked. The only thing i can smell is a very faint plastic smell form the fan running on occasion.


That is the new motor smell from what i have been told it goes away. You can leave a dish of charcoal in there. Won't hurt anything.:laser:


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## gehrig97 (Aug 19, 2007)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> You didn't try the activated Charcoal i told you about.:hmm:
> Pity cause it works like a charm.:tsk:


Ah, sorry Tony. The truth is I completely forgot to try it:noidea:

But I _did_ appreciate the advice!


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